


What family is truly for

by Darkspirit



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Abusive Filbrick Pines, Alternate Universe of an Alternate Universe, Angst, Brotherly Love, Child Abuse, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Family Feels, Family Issues, Filbrick Pines Is A Jerk, Ford Pines is a Jerk, Forgiveness, Friendship/Love, Gen, Homelessness, Human Bill Cipher, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Inspired by Fanfiction, Multi, Poor Sebastian, Reconciliation, Resentment, Self-Esteem Issues, Self-Hatred, Therapy, Triangle Bill Cipher
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-13
Updated: 2020-10-21
Packaged: 2021-02-28 22:53:57
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 15,954
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23125066
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Darkspirit/pseuds/Darkspirit
Summary: A single choice to protect what is precious to you can change everything. Whether it is for better or worse only time will tell.
Relationships: Axolotl & Bill Cipher, Bill Cipher & Ford Pines, Bill Cipher & Stan Pines, Bill Cipher/Original Female Character(s), Fiddleford H. McGucket & Ford Pines, Ford Pines & Stan Pines, Sherman "Shermie" Pines & Caryn Romanoff Pines, Sherman "Shermie" Pines & Stan Pines, Sherman "Shermie" Pines/Original Character(s), Stan Pines & Caryn Romanoff Pines
Comments: 5
Kudos: 18





	1. The decision

**Author's Note:**

  * For [bluefrosty27](https://archiveofourown.org/users/bluefrosty27/gifts).



"Daddy! NO!" Shermie cried, trying to free himself from his mom's death grip. She was crying loudly and wetly as Stanley hugged her with his own tears.

Ford, on the other hand, decided to not go to his room and see the punishment Sebas was receiving as a way to be compensated for having his project destroyed.

_This is wrong_. Stanley thought desperately. _WRONG, WRONG, SO FUCKING WRONG IN EVERY WAY!!!_

Why did this have to happen? Why his brothers’ rivalry had to end up in a bomb and affect the family?! WHY THE FUCK FORD’S PROJECT HAD TO BE THE ONE DESTROYED AND NOT SOMEONE ELSE’S?! IT WASN’T FAIR!!

His mouth then moved on his own, tired of seeing his loved ones tearing each other apart because of what might be a stupid mistake.

"He just made a mistake! Dad!" He shouted at him, and Filbrick turned around for a second to meet his eyes. "Would you have kicked me out too?!"

"It's not the same, Stanley!" Filbrick spat, shaking the boy he was holding painfully by his hair.

"How is it not!?" He was going to move forward but feeling Kari weakly holding onto his muscled arm stopped him. "Is it because I am going to make you money and he won't!?"

The man glared at his son, though it was imperceptible with the dark glasses. "This is because I should have gotten rid of this PEST sooner"

Stanley felt his unmanly tears streaming down his face and hugged his mom, suddenly feeling weak and small. He couldn't protect his brother...What kind of older brother he was?!

No…

NONONONONONONONO!

NO!! He couldn’t let this happen!

Stan had let Sebas down a lot of times when his younger triplet needed him most. When he accidentally broke something in the house, Sebastian was the one who suffered the punishment. When the teachers belittled him and didn’t give him the chance to show off his project, Stan just stayed silent. When the jerk of a principal insulted Sebastian calling him crazy, he didn’t shut that idiot up. When Ford humiliated him in front of others in the cafeteria and made him cry, there was no defense coming from Stan.

What’s the point of calling yourself family if you just hide like a coward or turn the blind eye while your own sibling is suffering?!

Know what? SCREW IT! Being a famous football player wasn’t that important now. His brother was!

“STOP!!!” Stanley yelled with all the courage he could muster. Filbrick looked at him and raised an eyebrow a bit confused as Sebastian despite the pain in his head.

Forcing his own body to not tremble like a leaf in a windy day, he puffed his chest, more trepidation than fake pride coursing through his veins. He walked resolutely, even avoiding his mother’s attempt to stop him again, and put himself in front of Pa and his beaten brother.

“Let him go, Pa. This” Stanley pointed to the teary glance of Sebastian “This is madness! Hitting and hating Sebastian for what might have been a slipup won’t change anything. And he doesn’t deserve it”

Filbrick’s raised eyebrow lowered and his expression got flat like he was listening to the most idiotic thing in all century.

“Didn’t ya hear what Ford said, knucklehead? His science project that could’ve got him in that college IS BROKEN. That means no fancy college, no future for him, NO. MILLIONS” even when he wasn’t raising his voice, Stan knew very well that the dullness of tone in Pa meant that he was oh so close to exploding in an uglier way than before. However, that didn’t deter him to defend Sebastian.

“Look,” he started again after a bit of thought of how to convince his cruel father to let his triplet go “it’s not that I don’t care about how Ford is feeling right now. I mean, I would be mad and hurt too if that had happened to me, but maybe this was an accident. Besides, with his big brain, he could find another way to be accepted in that school, heck, I can even help him. But to just vent all of your anger—”

“Move, Stanley. I don’t have time to see you waste yours in this shitty scum. He leaves and that is final!”

“Are y-you kidding me?! He’s my brother, my family. Not a waste of time as you may always have thought!”

“Delusional shit,” Filbrick said and spat disdainfully at Sebastian’s face “Maybe if you had been the one with the future and millions out of reach because of this fucker’s screwup, you wouldn’t be acting so merciful with him! I bet you would be happy to see me get rid of him!”

“I’m not that obsessed with money like YOU are!” Stan accused hotly. His mind was completely divided at this point. On the one hand, his anger and love for his triplet were encouraging him to keep fighting no matter what. On the other hand, the voice of reason (the one he almost never listened to, to be honest) yelled at him to stop before Pa REALLY exploded and he became a new victim of his rage outbursts. “Sure, fame and money sound great but if that means I have to let you treat Sebastian that way or expect me to throw him away like some kind of garbage for my own benefit, then forget it! I. WON’T!!”

There was a looong and unsettling stretch of silence that froze the entire family, especially Stanley. He was fearing that his little demonstration of bravery has gone too far. However, much to his surprise, Pa smiled coldly, slyly at him.

_Pa’s smiling. PA’S SMILING!! WHAT THE FUCK THAT MEANS?!!!_ With how things were going, maybe trigonometry wasn’t that confusing anymore.

“Very protective of this filthy bug, uh? So, if I told you that the only way to make me let him go is to be kicked out and end up in the streets like he is going to be, would you do it?”

“FILBRICK, WHAT THE HELL?!!” Ma yelled, outraged and horrified. Shermie and Ford were jaw-slacked, they couldn’t believe their own father’s words. Was he really serious or were they dreaming?

Stanley was the most shocked of all. Many feelings were fighting in his mind: righteous anger, protectiveness, loyalty, disgust, disappointment, nervousness, uncertainty, the voice of reason (which was completely muted at this point). Was Pa that determined to make him doubt about protecting his sibling by resorting to this dirty trick?

Well, if one can play this way, why not two then?

“You know what, Pa? Fine, you’re right. This was a waste of time” those words cut through Sebas deeply, while Filbrick’s smirk got wider “Thanks for taking this decision for me. I’ll pack my things and get out of here, after all, someone has to help Sebas to take care of himself on the streets, anyways”

“WHAT?!!!” the others yelled. The surprise was that big that Filbrick unconsciously dropped Sebastian who rubbed endlessly his head to alleviate the pain for being grabbed by the hair that brutally.

“Stanley, are you out of your mind?!” Ford exclaimed. He knew that, of the three, Stan was the most reckless and irresponsible, but for him to throw away his future just to protect that fucking traitor of Sebastian… That was crazy! “Think rationally! If you keep going with that insane idea—”

“Shut it, Sixer. If being rational means to abandon family, then I prefer to be stupid for the rest of my life”

“YOU’VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME, KNUCKLEHEAD!!!” Filbrick roared and towered over him while Sebastian placed himself behind Stan for protection. “Have you forgotten Ohio State’s scholarship?! Didn’t you want to be that famous football player?! Are you truly going to give that up for this piece of shit?!”

Stanley’s trepidation was reaching a new level, but he maintained his supposed-to-be confident posture and looked at Pa with as much seriousness as he could show. “My decision is taken. Unless you change your mind to stop treating Sebastian so badly, I’ll go with him. Besides, you and the others are being overdramatic. I’m being kicked out of the house, not the school. Now if everyone excuses me, there’s a door that needs to be open. Come on, Sebas” Stan placed his right hand on his triplet’s shoulder while smiling at him, and led him to the front door.

“STANLEY PINES, STOP THIS GODDAMN NONSENSE THIS INSTANT!!! IF YOU DON’T LET THAT FUCKER BEING DISPOSED OF THEN YOU WILL **NEVER** BE WELCOME TO THIS HOUSEHOLD!!! NOT EVEN IF YOU GAIN MILLIONS!!” Filbrick, despite his terrible outburst, was -deep down- scared at the idea of losing another possible ticket to get out of Glass Shard Beach, though he didn’t show it to keep his pride intact.

Stan flinched a bit, though he clenched his fists to squeeze as much confidence and bravery was left in his body. Then he turned to Pa and said evenly, “Are you going to let Sebas alone and not kicking him out?” there was silence after that. His father didn’t move, his facial expression angry, outraged and shocked, nor talked either. He sighed sadly, “I’ll take that as a no. Goodbye. Oh uh, don’t worry, I’ll call ya when I find me and Sebas a place to sleep that isn’t my car” he then opened the door and got out with Sebastian while the others looked still in disbelief at what was happening.

Once both triplets were inside the car, Stan turned it on and went to someplace where the car could be protected from the heavy rain because yeah, surprise surprise! It was raining! Stupid weather, as if his family issues weren’t making this day bad enough.

When they were in a little café that had a parking lot with a ceiling to keep the car and them free from the rain, all the adrenaline and bravery vanished from Stan’s system which prompted him to hit the steering wheel with his forehead as if he had fainted.

“S-Stanley! Are you alright?!” his youngest triplet tried to check on him for some sign of illness or injury, but Stan stopped him.

“Ugh, fuck, now what?” the middle brother mumbled, drained and tired.

Sebastian grabbed his own hair in despair and self-hatred. _Idiot, idiot! You’re just a big burden, why did you have to let Stan ruin his own future for you? Why didn’t you stop him?_ The poor teenager was so consumed with these torturous thoughts that he didn’t notice Stan’s worried glance at him when he started pulling at his hair more strength and even hitting himself as punishment. Because he deserved it! First, it was Ford and now Stan had to pay for his stupidity!!

“Sebas, bro, stop! Stop, please!” Stan grabbed both his brother’s wrists and looked at his eyes which didn’t show that childish but happy spark from times ago. It was painful to see. But he couldn’t let what was going on those moments to break his triplet’s spirit. He didn’t defend him just to fail in the end, right? “PLEASE, BRO, STOP!”

“WHY?!! Don’t you see, you big idiot, your scholarship, your dreams, your future, EVERYTHING you’ve accomplished is gone!! GONE!! And because of who you might ask? Easy! BECAUSE OF ME!! Why? Why didn’t you stop?” the sobbing was so hard that it was a miracle that Stan’s heart hadn’t broken yet. Though now that he thought about it, maybe that has already happened and he didn’t notice it.

The confusion then took place of the pain he was feeling due to his brother’s cries. He hadn’t helped him when Sebas asked him to when he explained to him how he was being treated by the teachers when Ford and Pa weren’t being nice to him. And now that he was doing it, his triplet was blaming himself? Did he think that it was all forced instead of a loving and selfless act? That Stan was going to change his mind and leave him behind again?

“Sebas, you aren’t the one at fault! Whatever happened with Ford’s project I bet it wasn’t a sabotage”

“Sabotage or not, you didn’t have to do this! Why did you defend me?! Now you are homeless and with this one-eyed freak of a loser as a leech on your coattails!”

“YOU. ARE NOT. A. PARASITE!!!” Stan yelled with such a finality that finally shut Sebastian’s self-loathing outburst “Wanna know so much why I protected you, why I even risked being thrown from the house? Fine! I did it because I love you, you damn fool! I love you, you-you’re my little triplet, my family whether Pa like it or not!” A stream of tears ran down Stanley’s cheeks again, but he didn’t care how sappy or ridiculous he looked with a crying face as long as Sebastian knew that he still had someone who loved him and cared about him.

The other teenager was speechless at those words. Phrases like ‘I love you’ were more common from Ma than from the boys because of course, Pines men weren’t sentimental pussies. However, when he looked at Stan’s eyes, he saw determination, protectiveness and pure love. It was like when they were children and protected each other. Always together.

_‘_ _Yeah, right! As if he’s going to put up with you for more than a day, kid! I’ll give him at much an hour, then he’ll leave you!’_ Bill2 mocked cruelly, but Sebastian didn’t listen.

“B-But, what about the things you wanted to do? Being in the great leagues of the games, gaining money, all that stuff? Now—” Stan positioned Sebastian in a way that could let him see his face to face completely and smiled at him.

“You’re making a big deal of this like the others, doofus. I didn’t drop out of school if you think so. I can still go to school and graduate. Being homeless won’t stop me, though it will be difficult if Ford and I meet each other there. Difficult and awkward, to be honest”

“Stanley, you don’t understand!” cried Sebastian, more upset at his triplet’s optimism. “How are you going to pay for the material in what it’s left of school? And what about clothes, personal hygiene, and food?! You can’t just expect a little part-time job to help you if you have that in mind”

“So, are you going to help me with this?”

“Of course, I will. I owe you!”

That took Stan for surprise and not the pleasant one.

“Wow, wow, wow. Hold your horses, buddy. What do you mean by that?”

“Maybe you have forgotten but, if it wasn’t for me, you wouldn’t be in this situation!”

“Ok, first, you don’t owe me anything. Like ANYTHING at all. And no,” Stan stopped him from interrupting “don’t say that’s not true, because it is. Second, if I defend you and even decided to be homeless with you, it was because I wanted to protect you. Also, because I should make it up to you a long time ago. I mean, the teachers, Pa, the people from school, heck, Ford! Everyone was being bullies with you just because you were different. Sure, you are a bit weird in a scary way,” Sebas glared at his brother, not in the mood to be reminded of the things that disturbed others and came from him “but you are kind, smart and funny too! And they can’t see it because they are being idiots. Ford is the biggest of all… Well, me too. I didn’t help when you needed me if I had acted in time maybe things would have been different. But the point is that now I want to be there for you, no matter what. You don’t have to be alone. You don’t have to believe everyone is going to leave you behind either. So, what do you say, bro, wherever we go, we go together?” then he raised his hand for a high-five.

Sebastian’s eyes and cheeks were at full with tears and snot was coming out of his nose.

_‘Oh, come on, kid!’_ Bill2 complained, annoyed with the sappy resolution of Stan. _‘Seriously this is getting too old for my tastes and we’re like trillion of years old! If you at least have a bit of dignity then don’t you dare to—’_

Bill2 couldn’t finish his sentence because Sebas hugged his brother tightly while wrenching sobs were freed from his mouth. _‘Yep, last bit of dignity gone now. Circles, you’re a lost cause, kid’_

“You big idiot! Thank you, thank you so much! Thank you, dammit, thank you!” he cried, Stan returned the hug and rubbed circles on his back endlessly to calm him down. “We’re going to be ok, bro. We’re going to be ok”

After one or two hours of crying, hugging and calming down the turmoil of emotions inside of their heads, both brothers started to think about how to find a place to sleep and a part-time job to pay for the rent. Although Stanley didn’t want Sebastian to overexert himself with too much work even if he appreciated the help, his triplet insisted to the point of convincing him, but with some conditions like not forgetting school and taking care of himself.

“I’m surprised you’re telling me to take my studies seriously when you used to depend on me and Ford to get passable grades” Sebastian teased, more calmed and hopeful now that the crying was finally over.

“Haha, very funny. But still, at least if you are with me in school, I can keep an eye on you, you know. Just to make sure you’re not going to take like 2 or 3 jobs behind my back even if it’s to help me”

“But you need to—”

“Sebas, please, I told you, you don’t owe me anything. Besides, that scholarship was something I got because I was good at sports. It’s not going anywhere, not even if I don’t find a job”

“W-Well, if you say so, but…um…school… Look, if you want to keep going then fine, also you should because that scholarship is a great opportunity” _An opportunity I haven’t ruined as I did with Ford’s_ , he thought bitterly “Me, on the other hand, I don’t think I can keep studying there. After what I did with Sixer’s project, do you really think the principal or the teachers will be happy at seeing me or even willing to listen to my version of the story? I don’t know if Ford is going to tell them that I broke it when they ask him, though the possibility is high just so he can fucking spite me. And when that happens, they will look for ways to get rid of me so I don’t, you know, ‘ruin more geniuses’ futures’. At least you are liked by them, so it will be easy to go back to school without so much scandal. Besides… Besides, if Ford and I meet in class or in another part of the school, he will kill me! Literally!”

“Don’t worry about Pointdexter. He’s mad, and yeah with good reasons he is, but if he is really smart, then he will leave you alone unless he wants to be sent to jail for murder”

“You’re not being very comforting with that, you know?”

“Hey, I’m trying. This day has been really sucky and we need ideas to find a good place to sleep” then like a lightbulb, Stan’s eyes sparkled as if he found a great discovery “Of course! Seb, maybe we don’t need to look for rent forever. I know when we could sleep, though I hope her family doesn’t mind new guests in the house”

“Her family?” the teenager asked, confused “Who are you talking about?”

“You’ll see. Now get comfortable in your seat that we’re going to visit someone special” Stan buckled his seatbelt while his brother did the same, then turned on the car and took a new direction, praying for things to go right this time.

When they finally arrived, Sebastian was more confused than ever after trying to guess who was the person that, according to Stanley, could help them. “Fez, where are we exactly?”, “Easy, brother of mine. Carla’s house”, “You brought me to Carla’s house?!” Sebas exclaimed.

_'_ _Great, just fucking great. Now we have to see them smooching 24/7!’_ Bill2 whined miserably, and even when that wasn’t something he wanted to imagine; the teenager was a bit happy that Bill2 had to endure this.

Stanley was the one who got out of the car, telling his brother to wait inside the car. “Please, for the love of our dignity or whatever, DO NOT smooch. I’m really tired and I don’t want to witness a scene that comes from a cliché telenovela”, “Relax. Geez, what do you take me for?” his brother rang the bell and waited for some minutes while he protected his head in vain from the rain that hadn’t stopped yet.

Then a woman in her forties, if Sebastian wasn’t wrong, opened the door. “Yeah? Who's? Wait, Stanley?” The old lady looked at him with surprise while the lad smiled apologetically. “Uh, hi, Mrs. McCorkle. Look, I know this is a big surprise, sort of, but could you let us in your house, please? I swear I’ll explain everything later”

“Us? Is someone else with you?”

“Yeah, my youngest triplet, Sebastian. Could we enter, please?”

Carla’s mother was asking herself millions of questions, but after seeing her daughter’s drenching boyfriend and his exhausted brother, she just sighed and nodded. Sebas got out of the car then and enter as quickly as Stan, not without giving a polite greeting to the ma’am. Manners are important, that’s what Ma had taught him.

Once they were in the living room, which wasn’t medium size when Sebas gave it a quick look, Mrs. McCorkle asked them to sit in one of the sofas and they did. Then, some steps were heard from a room on the second floor of the house and Carla appeared.

“Mom, I think I heard—Stanley?!” the girl’s eyes were huge as plates from the surprise. Her boyfriend smiled at her and waved. Sebastian waved too just to be polite. Carla went down the stairs and meet them in the living room. Both Stan and his triplet, whom she heard of when she and his boyfriend talked sometimes, were soaked and the second had puffy eyes. Did something happen to make him cry that much? Had something happened in the Pines household? A bad vibe consumed her inners, no wanting to delve into it for fear to make it true.

“Dear, why don’t you sit with me and the boys?” her mother suggested to ease the tension “Don’t anyone want some tea, cookies?” the three teenagers shook their heads and the ma’am sit then and invited the two triplets to explain their situation.

“Ok. I’ll be short first. Sebastian and I were kicked out of the house”

There was a stretch of silence that was heavier than the one who took place in the boys’ house. Then Carla laughed like hearing a good joke.

“Good one, babe. Good one” however, after watching their serious faces and remembering the teary face of Sebastian, she fell silent. Meanwhile, her mother…

“KICKED OUT OF YOUR OWN HOUSE?!!!” the old lady was scandalized.

Stan and Sebas flinched due to the scream. _‘Wow, not only Fez is stupid but also tactless!’_ Bill2 mocked. Sebastian was going to glare at the open-air but decided to just ignore the dream demon.

“Calm down, Mrs. McCorkle. I know this seems bad but—”

“Why were you kicked out like mutts?”

Ouch, that hurt. Especially to Sebastian who sunk on his shoulders.

“Mom! That’s mean!” Carla scolded her mother. She could be such a sweetheart but sometimes she talked without thinking first.

“It’s just—Yeah, yeah. You’re right, hon. Sorry, guys. What exactly happened?”

“Well…” Stanley didn’t know how to start because the big part of the story was solely based on what happened to Ford’s project and that bit of info only his youngest triplet knew it. He looked at him like asking him if he was alright with the idea to explain how the machine was destroyed. Sebastian sighed tiredly. _Here we go_ , he thought before starting and ignoring Bill2’s mockeries that they were gonna kick him out too.

“E-Everything started when the teachers said the science fair was nearing. Stanford and I were very excited to participate and win but…” the rest of the story was felt like a blur. No, not a blur but something very hard and painful to swallow. The worst part was when he told them about how the teachers didn’t listen to him, didn’t give him a chance to demonstrate his project worked and gave him a B- when he deserved an A. About Ford cheating by getting one of the teachers’ vote despite not having started the fair ( _That petty, arrogant coward!_ Sebastian thought angrily) and then insulted him horribly in the cafeteria in front of many students after Sebas confronted him. About how outraged and hurt he felt for that injustice.

When he was close to the part of destroying accidentally Ford’s project, Stan put a hand on his shoulder and smiled at him to assure him that he wasn’t going to leave him. _You don’t have to be alone_ , that’s what his middle triplet said. So, with as much courage as he could muster and holding his tears back, he continued.

“I was in the auditorium of the school where the science fair was going to be held… I looked at my project and I thought h-how useless, w-worthless and stupid it was, h-how idiotic it was for me to have tried when no one cared a bit… So, I broke it and tore it apart… Then, when my eyes met Ford’s perpetual motion machine, I had a war in my head” he said that part to cover for the one that was he and Bill2 arguing about breaking Sixer’s project “I didn’t want him to leave. I didn’t want to be left behind and it wasn’t fair that the teachers favored him always! Apart of me wanted, like **really** **wanted** to destroy the machine while the other didn’t want to hurt Ford. Then, I grabbed the tube of my experiment and…and hit myself with it to get that horrible idea out of my mind!” some gasps were heard from Carla and her mother, all while Stan tightened his hold in Sebastian’s shoulder to give him comfort “Th-Then, an accidental swing with the tube hit the machine which fell from the table and broke into pieces. I-I didn’t know what to do and when I ran away ashamed, the toffy peanut wrapper fell to the ground. Something I didn’t notice”

“So that’s how Ford believed it was me who did it”

“I-I’m so sorry, Stan”

“It’s ok, Sebas. What about if I tell the rest of the story, uh? I don’t want you to overwhelm yourself with this”

“A-Alright. Thanks”, his triplet sniffed gratefully.

“So, neither Ford or I knew about this and the next day was the science fair and Sebas was sick I think, so he didn’t go to school. When I returned, he told me he had done something bad and was scared of what might happen. I got worried and was going to ask him what he did when Ford came back. He… He was furious, he had been crying for some time and he yelled at me. He accused me of breaking his project and embarrassed him in front of West Coast Tech people, the fancy school he wanted to go. I told him it wasn’t me and then Sebastian confessed it was him. Ford got nuts and attacked Sebastian, calling him a traitor for what he did. I wanted to believe it was an accident but Pointdexter wasn’t in the mood to listen. And just when things couldn’t get worse, Pa appeared. He had listened to the discussion and was even more furious than Ford because if Ford couldn’t go to that school, then he couldn’t make millions like Pa wanted. While he kicked and hit Sebas, Ma and Shermie came to the picture too. Everything was a mess. I didn’t know what to do and Pa was ready to kick him out. I couldn’t let that happen so I tried to convince him to leave him alone, but he just told me ‘If you want me to do it, then that means you want to be in the streets then’” there were more gasps but these time horrified “I couldn’t believe what he was saying but if I hesitated then Sebas would be on his own. So, I told him that yeah, I would be homeless if that meant being there for my brother and minutes later, we were in the streets, inside my car. And sometime before coming here, I decided that asking for your help would be a good idea. Of course, if you don’t mind, Mrs. McCorkle”

Both Carla and her mother looked at each other worried and clearly disgusted at Filbricks Pine's actions.

“With all due respect to your father, though that PIG of a man never deserved any, that was seriously the cruelest thing he could do to a child! And for what, for money?! The only thing he should be getting is a one-way ticket to jail for this abuse”

“Oh, trust me, that would have been so great if it had happened much before of this mess” Sebastian mumbled bitterly.

“That’s why you came here, right? You need a place to stay” Carla commented still in shock.

“If it’s possible. Well, if two is too much, maybe just Sebastian”

“Stan! What the heck! What about you?!”

Just when both brothers were going to argue, Mrs. McCorkle interrupted them with a fake cough, “It’s horrible what happened to both of you and it was very noble of you, Stanley, to defend your brother. I’ll see what I can do, my husband was going to be so surprised about this but he will help too. Now, obviously, you must be hungry. Do you want anything special?”

“Whatever is available will be enough, Mrs. McCorkle, thanks” Sebastian smiled shyly.

At the hour of dinner, Carla’s father had already arrived from work and was being informed by Stanley, mainly, of what had happened to him and his triplet. Thankfully, he, like Mrs. McCorkle, was understanding and kind of their situation too. “Can’t believe that man has the nerve to call himself a father after the treatment he delivered to your brother. At least, young Sebastian is free from that abuse. Now, concerning your problem of a new residence, thankfully we have a little guest room for family visits. It’s between small and medium but I bet you’ll like it”

Stan’s smile couldn’t have been bigger. He even gave Sebastian a friendly noogie while laughing. Meanwhile, the other teenager was ready to cry again but this time with hope running through his veins. Finally. FINALLY! Something good happened after this fucked up day!

“Thank you. T-Thank you so much, Mr. and Mrs. McCorkle, and you too, Carla. Really, thank you” Sebastian sniffed gratefully, Stan smiled at her girlfriend and her family, relieved to see that there were good people they could trust.

“Anything for our darling’s boyfriend AND his brother. You are part of this family now” Mrs. McCorkle said with a smile.

It was almost time to sleep when Stan forgot there was the last thing he needed to do. “Hey, babe, do you know where the phone is? I need to call Ma, at least to assure her that we’re fine and not dying on a ditch as she might imagine”

“Course, in the living room’s night table. Oh, and, good night, Stan. Sweet dreams” she pecked him on the cheek and went to her room.

“Sweet dreams too, babe,” he said and marked his family number. There was a ring, then two and then “Who the heck is it?” Shit! It was Pa! Abort mission, abort mission! Stan hung up immediately and rubbed his face with both hands, frustrated. He had assured Ma that he would call after he and Sebas found a place to stay, but if Pa was always guarding the phone then how would communicate with his mother, Shermie and Ford?

_That’s if he doesn’t hate you too_ , he thought worriedly but brushed it off. Pointdexter was mad for good reasons, sure, he could understand that. However, whether he liked or not, Sixer would have to stop moping around and see things in Sebastian’s perspective once those two talked things out which seemed highly unlikely.

“S-Stan?” Sebas whispered and his brother turned around. His little triplet was concerned, Stan swallowed “I tried to call Ma to tell her we’re fine. But Pa was the one who responded, so I hung up”

“Oh, I see” they were silent for a moment before the younger teenager spoke again “The room Mr. McCorkle showed us looks good, though the bed is a bit smaller for both of us to sleep, I mean, I don’t want to be—”

“It’s ok, bro. But don’t say that you’re going to sleep on the floor because I won’t accept it. We can create a cover cave and tell each other some scary stories, it would be fun!”

“Hehe, that would be fun. L-Look, I know we talked about coming back to school but it’s better if you keep attending. After what happened today, no one will be happy to see me, especially Ford. Maybe next week things will be less overwhelming, but for now, it’s not wise if I assist”

Stan saddened a bit after hearing that. Honestly, he considered it an exaggeration, nobody, after all, had seen Sebastian breaking accidentally Ford’s machine. He was going to protest and say that he could stop whatever rumors in the school but after seeing his triplet’s pleading eyes, he sighed and nodded. “Ok, and don’t worry about what Pointdexter is going to tell the teachers or the principal. With charms at my side, I can make everyone change their minds”

The teenager smiled at Stan’s optimism and both then went to the guest room ready to sleep. Though, before the older triplet closed his eyes, he looked at his depressed sibling snuggled against him and prayed that tomorrow he could find a way to fix this mess. Because there should be a way to do it, right?


	2. From the safe haven to hell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Unfortunately for Stan and Sebastian, the second one’s suspicions turned to be true: news spread really fast. But there was also the matter of a well-needed confrontation.

The next day started slowly. Stan got up groggily and with a not-so-friendly face. His eyes surveyed his new surroundings and then he got alarmed. _This is not my room! Where am I?!_ Then, after glancing at his sleeping brother, he recalled everything that happened yesterday: Ford’s broken project, the big fight in the house, his decision to be homeless to defend Sebas, Carla’s family taking them in. _Uh, yeah, now I remember_ , he concluded numbly.

He sighed, rubbed his tired eyes and went to the bathroom to wash his face and maybe find some mint pills to refresh his breath due to feel his mouth sticky like he had swallowed mud when a knock was heard. “Oh, Mr. McCorkle… Sorry, were you going to use the bathroom?” Stan was nervous, when he was still in the home he was more laid back and sometimes caused trouble when it was time to use the bathroom or any other thing, but now he was homeless -sort of- and trying to take care of his little brother so angering or bothering his girlfriend’s father wasn’t a good idea despite the sir treated them nicely.

The gentleman shook his head amiably, “I was just going to say that my wife and I bought extra toothbrush thanks to those coupons for products. You and your brother can use the spares” Stanley smiled gratefully. After some refreshing his face and getting rid of the sleepiness, he went to the kitchen where Mrs. McCorkle and Carla were speaking about something while they prepared breakfast.

“Stan, babe, how did you sleep?” his girlfriend hugged him and pecked him on the cheek, ignoring her mother’s ‘not in the house, young lady’.

“Good, it was much better than trying to do it in my car” he joked which elicited a chuckle from his girl.

“How is your brother, Stan? Isn’t he going to eat breakfast?” the temperature in the kitchen lowered, though it was more his mood’s fault than everything.

“I doubt it. He was just so tired so more sleep is the only thing he will take. But thanks, Mrs. McCorkle. Also, if you don’t mind, he will keep you company the rest of the day”

“Keep me company?” the ma’am raised an eyebrow in confusion.

“We talked yesterday and according to him; it would be better if he goes to school after a week. He believes that Ford is going to tell the teachers and the principal that the one who ‘ruined his whole future’ was Sebastian and when that happens, they will do anything to expel him. That and that if he and Sebas meet, Pointdexter is going to kill him for sure”

“I don’t know your genius brother, Stan, but isn’t that overkill?”

“Yeah, right? So only I will go back, but I just hope Ford has calmed at least a bit because if not the other week will be full hell”

“Trust me, Fez, whether I’m present in the school or not, he will accuse me as a saboteur and even find a way for my expulsion” the three people in the kitchen got surprised by a bitter, exhausted voice and turned their heads to Sebastian who was at the entrance.

“Hey, Seb, uh… Were you listening?” Stan asked awkwardly.

“Just the part when Carla stated that it was overkill for Ford to destroy my reputation as revenge for not being accepted by that college. Haha, as if the impression others have on me isn’t fu--, horrible enough”

“Did you sleep well?” the girl asked suddenly to change the topic before the environment got heavier.

“More or less” he quelled a little yawn “I had some trouble because of bad dreams” _and a very annoying and blabbering Dorito!_ He yelled in his mind for Bill2 to hear.

_‘Rude, kid! Don’t forget you’re stuck with me!’_

“Well, if there is something that can cheer you up that is having a full stomach. Come on, Seb, let’s eat” Carla, her parents and both brothers sit at the table and take breakfast while chatting of everything and anything in special, though Sebastian was silent almost all the time they were in the kitchen, not still in the mood to be social.

When the time came to go back to school, Stan bid farewell to his brother and assured him things in school were going to be ok, then he got inside the car with Carla and started the path on the institute. Sebastian was left with the girl’s mother and wondering what to do for the rest of the day and even the rest of the week.

“Mrs. McCorkle, you won’t mind me if I help you with the chores, right?” he asked timidly.

“Of course not, hun. In fact, I’ll be happy if you tell me more about that project of yours, the one the teachers weren’t kind enough to give a well-deserved A” the woman smiled in a way that reminded him about Ma. He held the tears back while pondered how she was dealing with this mess.

“S-Sure”

\-------------------------

Meanwhile, Stan and Carla had already arrived at school and gone to their respective classes today. Once the lad entered his classroom, he could feel the high tension and angriness though it wasn’t directed at him and no one of his classmates was glaring at him. In fact, it came from Stanford who was in one of the seats in the first row.

Lee swallowed preoccupied with the reaction Ford was going to have when he greeted him. Shaking his head to get those intrusive thoughts out of his mind, he went to his brother’s table and coughed.

Sixer didn’t react, too immersed in one of his trigonometry books, so Stan coughed a bit louder this time. Pointdexter finally directed his gaze towards him and his eyes widened like seeing a ghost.

“Hi, Fo—”

“What are you doing here?” Ford questioned, his voice covered with shock and not anger and betrayal as his middle triplet had thought.

“What do you mean by that? I study here. Didn’t you remember when I tell you guys that I wasn’t expelled from school just because I was kicked out of the house?”

“More like kicking YOURSELF out of home which is seriously the stupidest thing you have ever done in your life”

Stan’s expression changed from surprise and hurt at that statement to the ‘I’m not impressed’ version of Pa’s face and crossed his arms, watching his brother in a way that says ‘For real, dude?’ which made Ford uncomfortable.

“Stop looking at me like that, Stanley! It’s true! Sebastian was going to receive what he deserved for ruining my life and future because of his envy and then you just throw away your own life for that traitor! Why?!”

“Ok, first, it wasn't sabotaged, that mess was an accident. He even told me how it happened. Second, --” some steps were heard, the Stan triplets observed it was one of the science teachers that were going to enter the place, so they went to their seats, not without Stanley telling his brother that they would talk later about this.

“Young Pines, I’m relieved that you’re here now that your brother needs you more than anything,” she said solemnly. Stan raised an eyebrow not liking the course of that comment, “Should I ask what is going on?”

“Oh, you don’t know? It was the biggest injustice of all. That troublemaker Sebastian Pines -I can barely believe he is related to both of you- couldn’t stand to see Stanford shine and show his potential to the WCT admission team so he destroyed his brother’s project and even he had the nerve to frame you! Such an unforgivable and inexcusable act out of jealousy! What a shame!”

Stan was jaw-slacked, like in a trance to deny what Sebas had been suspecting that would happen. Because it was too soon to be real! How Ford could tell one of the teachers this nonsense if classes were barely starting? Did he tell the others to get his revenge or did the teachers and principal want answers? He hoped fervently that those theories were wrong because if not, Sebas wouldn’t last in school not even for 5 minutes.

“I know how you must be feeling, young Pines” the teacher put a hand on his shoulder comfortingly “It’s devastating the idea that someone who you thought was family committed a crime against a loved one”

Bullshit! Sebastian may have broken the machine but it wasn’t betrayal but an accident!

“It was a mistake that got out of control. No sabotage or treachery. Only a mistake!” Stan yelled and pushed away from the teacher’s hand from his shoulder to sit and get over with the first class. The whole classroom was shocked at this reaction but said nothing.

Thankfully the lessons were given without interruption and when lunchtime came, Stan looked for his brother though he didn’t find him in the cafeteria.

“Of course, the library. He’s a book lover after all” he facepalmed and went there. There were rows and rows for shelves, some students were getting some books out while others were reading in a reading zone of the library. Ford was there, sat in the farthest table of the reading zone and, for some reason though in vain, trying to make himself invisible.

Stan approached him cautiously, not wanting him to escape or avoid him but, much to his surprise, his brother lowered the book and looked at him grumpily.

“Now what?” he whispered.

“We need to talk”

“If this is about that damn traitor lying to you, then forget it. I thought you were smarter than this, Stanley” the genius glowered fiercely and tried to resume his reading, but Stan interrupted him again by sitting in front of him with his arms crossed.

“You think I don’t know how to detect liars? We were raised in a pawnshop, buddy. Also, if you could at least listen for once you could see that it was an unfortunate accident”

“Unfortunate my butt!” Ford exclaimed and shut his mouth quickly, fearing the librarian was going to appear from nothing and expel him from the place.

Impatient for making things clear about the science fair, Stan grabbed his brother’s right arm and got him out of the library despite his multiple protests. This guy really needed to relax, he could feel his total tension and stress very easily.

When they were in a little corner where no one could hear them, Stan put him face to face, “Wanna know the other part of the whole story, Ford? ‘Cause whether you like it or not, I’m going to tell you what really happened and next, YOU are going to tell me how did you spread that stupid news about Sebastian ruining your future. And no, there’s no way to escape from this if that’s what you think”

“Are you kidding me?! So, what, he is now the poor victim and I’m the vile ogre that is going to eat him? What about my project, my chances to go to West Coast Tech, my whole life?! I thought you cared!”

“Wow, stop your car right there, dude. Don’t put words in my mouth. Defending Sebastian doesn’t mean I have stopped caring about you. You both are my triplets; I would do anything for you two”

“That seems unlikely after siding with him!”

“I. Didn’t. Side. With. Anyone. What I did was defending my brother. I mean, didn’t you see how Pa was treating him? He was beating Sebas like he was an animal! He was going to throw him out like crap! I had to do something!”

“He deserved it, Stanley! You don’t know how humiliating and unbearable it was to see the faces of WCT’s admission team when they saw my perpetual motion machine in pieces! It was a living hell! It was worse than Crampelter and his goons’ insults and bullying multiplied by 100!! They looked at me as if I was a clown playing the genius role, like if I had only planned to waste their time and never had taken the fair seriously! For them, I was a worthless, insignificant loser undeserving of studying in the best college in the country!!”

This was exactly how Sebastian felt if Stan recalled rightly. He even remembered how the teachers dismissed him coldly and even believed that Ford was the one who helped him doing all the work just because the dumbass was super smart. The worst part was when they didn’t listen to Sebas’ pleadings that he was taking the science fair seriously.

“You won’t care or be willing to listen but Sebastian was there as you. Have you ever considered how unfair it was for him that the teachers never helped him or gave him the chance to show off his project while you were showered in praises?”

“He was a sore loser! He couldn’t accept that his rebellious behavior had consequences when he wasn’t allowed to use fire for his experiment! And if he had controlled his weird and disturbing antics from the start, the teachers would have been fairer with him!”

_F_ _uck, good points_ , Stan cursed mentally, though now that Ford was talking about actions and consequences, there was something that shouldn’t be left out of the conversation.

“You know even if what you say it’s true and that not everybody is fond of that side of Sebastian, it’s rich of you to mention that he didn’t accept the consequences of his actions when YOU cheated”

Ford froze after hearing the last word, but then he got defensive, “Why that is such a big deal?”

“Because, now that I think about it, it was unnecessary but it never crossed to your mind”

“What do you mean?” Ford didn’t like the course this topic was having.

“Come on, genius. Be realistic. You have EVERYTHING on your favor to win this science fair as you’ve always done. Pa bought what you needed, the teachers answered every question you had and even let you use some materials of the school, they liked you and favored you. Also, you have the biggest brain of the three, so, conclusion ready: you didn’t need to cheat”

“Are you saying that I don’t have the right to resort to that?” the Brainiac was attempting to put the topic in another path.

“Whether you have the right or not, it was unnecessary. I mean, why—” then a weird but very reasonable realization struck Stan like a thunder. His mind was having a hard time grasping the concept that appeared once the clues were fit together like pieces of a puzzle. He felt like an idiot for not noticing the signs sooner though he couldn’t believe Ford had felt that way when Sebastian showed his project “You were scared. You acted cowardly”

Something in Ford’s mind snapped. Like seeing a computer showing a tab that said ‘Error 404’, multiplied millions of times and being unable to get rid of it. Of course, he tried to deny it.

“T-That’s preposterous! Why should I be scared?” Sixer crossed his arms and puffed his chest with fake confidence.

“’Cause Sebastian might have had a chance to get an A and win the science fair for once which you didn’t want. And it wasn’t going to happen. I don’t know if you have noticed how he was treated by the teachers but he told me they’re so disgusted by him that can’t stand being in his presence for too long. But you were so desperate to keep your pedestal safe from Sebas that you cheated!”

“That’s not true!” Ford exploded. Since when Stanley was so defensive for that disgusting, defective version of Judas Iscariot?! He was supposed to be on HIS side!! “If I was that desperate, I would have destroyed his project as he did with mine! Do you have now another great argument in your favor?”

“Sure, you didn’t sabotage him but you still cheated, and it was because you were imagining that the teachers would give him a second chance at any moment. And that was unacceptable, right Ford?” Stan glared at his older triplet who fought the urge of running away or shrink on his shoulders because that would mean revealing the truth “You couldn’t stand seeing Sebastian happy with a well-deserved A because every A should be yours even if you were an A-straight genius. And when you listened to his exposition you thought ‘Oh no, the teachers are going to like it and I will lose the prize’ so you cheated to prevent that”

Ford’s mind had a lot of protests ready to be thrown at Stan’s reasoning. However, the more he thought about what his brother was explaining, the fewer counterarguments he had. First, yeah, the teachers liked him a lot and were willing to help him, more to him than with other students, especially more than Sebastian. So, what if he got their votes BEFORE the science fair? It wasn’t that different than being elected as a winner during the event and they were sure he would win.

_Then why cheating if they were so confident about that?_ Said a voice nastily similar to Sebastian. He mentally shook his head. Well, if cheating is oh-so-wrong, then why didn’t they stop him from getting votes before the fair? _They favor you and hate your triplet, obviously, they would overlook your attempt at cheating to have you as a winner. They HELPED you with cheating_. But still, it wasn’t his fault! Sebastian could’ve won, he had to stop it. He needed to—

_Oh, don’t use the victim card, dude. Stan is right, the teacher never treated Sebastian fairly. They barely listened to him, heck you even noticed that. Whenever you presented an exposition for a project, they gave you their total attention and were elated, but your triplet was the exception._ Ford didn’t have some good comeback against that reasoning. _See? You were scared. Your little throne, the praises, the As, you couldn’t stand Sebastian having that for once in his life. And even if the teachers were never going to give him the grade he deserved, you’d rather acted cowardly to save your nerdy pedestal than accept defeat like a man._

No, no it wasn’t that! He wasn’t a coward! He deserved that A, that traitor deserved punishment! Why Stanley couldn’t understand?!

“Whatever you have to tell me about that disgusting, traitorous freak, I won’t hear it! And just so you know, I’m NOT a coward!” Ford was going to flee from the confrontation but Stan got in his way again and towered him.

“I told you that you were to listen whether you like it or not” Stan looked at him with deadly seriousness to put his triplet in his place “Now, look, your machine was destroyed. Everyone knows that and you’re mad and outraged because Sebas told you it was his fault. And yeah it was his fault but it was a damn mistake. Nothing more! He told me he was destroying HIS OWN project because he thought it was worthless and useless. And while doing that, he accidentally broke yours and panicked”

“Oh, so he IS putting himself as the damsel in distress now,” Pointdexter said sarcastically.

Stan felt one of his eyes twitching. For the love of--! Couldn’t Ford’s brain get the point or what?! He was supposed to be the smart one and still he was missing it!

“This is not a victim role play, Brainiac. Just a goddamn, stupid mistake! Seriously, do I have to write it for you?!”

His brother didn’t say a single word, he just glared at one of the walls as if Sebastian was there to blame him for this fight. Stan sighed again seeing that the confrontation wasn’t going anywhere.

“Anyway, how many teachers have you told about this ‘sabotage plan’ of Sebas, uh? Or only Miss Hansen is the only one?”

“Are you going to stop me from telling the truth?! First, my project was destroyed, I was labeled a failure by WCT, having the teachers seeing me as a loser is too much!”

“What happened with your machine is not a--!”

Then the bell rang signaling the end of lunchtime. Stan cursed mentally for his bad luck. He’ll have to see in the next classes if the other teachers and even the principal bought that shit from Ford. Though, if he was being honest, most likely, they have already done so.

__________________________

The rest of the day was uneventful. Stressfully uneventful.

For once in his life, Stan took classes seriously which was more of a pain in the ass than a miracle for him, and despite having it easy by asking for some sheets of paper and a pen to write notes for Sebastian, staying focused on the mumbo jumbo of the teachers almost made him fall asleep.

However, whenever they talked to him about how ‘horrible’ or ‘jealous’ Sebas was because of the accident with Ford’s project, his anger rose and the response was always the same: no, Sebastian didn’t sabotage Stanford. No, it wasn’t betrayal but an accident. And NO! Do NOT insult my brother if you don’t want to taste my punches!

In hindsight, that wasn’t the best reaction because now he was in the principal’s office. Well, at least Mom and Pa weren’t there or things would be worse.

“I don’t like this situation as much as you, young Pines,” the principal said with a concerned voice, his eyes glinting with disappointment at him “Being protective of the family is one thing but to threaten a teacher with violence? You are lucky it didn’t get that bad because, with that kind of attitude, your scholarship will be ruined”

Stanley groaned and, heck it was so difficult to admit it but nodded in understanding.

“I was frustrated!” he yelled, though the principal made him level his voice with a warning glare “What everyone expected me to do, uh? Let the teachers and other people in school insult Sebastian and treating him like a loser? They don’t know the whole story!”

“So, what’s the whole story then? As far as we know, because of him, Ford’s project was ruined and his chances to get to West Coast Tech are gone”

“That’s general. Look, what you said is true but it wasn’t a sabotage. He told me what happened”

“And you believe him?”

Stan now glared at the principal with fiercely “Are you implying that just because he is my brother I’m believing in his story? That even if he is lying to me and even if I know that he is I have to believe him? Ok, first of all, I want to protect him after everything Sebas has gone through, but that doesn’t mean I’m dumb. I KNOW when someone is trying to pull on my leg. Second, about Sebas’ side of the story: he went to the auditorium where the science projects were and were so angry because his project was deemed worthless after so much work that he destroyed it. And while doing that, he destroyed Ford’s machine accidentally and panicked. Also, no” he stopped the principal from interrupting him with a ‘maybe your brother’s lying’ shit “Sebas is NOT a liar. He was being honest with me. So, there it is. The whole story. That’s why I was so mad with the teachers, they bought Ford’s blabbering about Sebastian’s _betrayal_ without caring to hear the other part”

“I think what the problem here is” the principal talked with a tone that said ‘You’ve been scammed and can’t notice it’ “He is just using his experiment as a decoy to not accept that his envy got in the way of Stanford’s future and is putting himself as the victim”

If Stan’s jaw were elastic it would have touched the ground after listening to such idiotic nonsense. It was too much already! First Stanford’s refusing to listen, then the teachers badmouthing Sebas and now this?!

“UUUUUGGGGHHH!!” he pulled at his hair with so strongly that it tore some bits of it much to the principal’s shock “You know what? Fine! After my brother and I graduate, I’ll become a famous football player, get lots of money and get Sebastian the heck out of here. Because as far as I’m concerned, no one cares enough to listen” then he got out to the office and went to a bathroom to wash his face. Maybe the cold water can help him relax and not snap at the idiots from the school. Including Pointdexter.

_Wonder how Sebas is doing_ , he thought before going back to his classes.

_________________________

Sebastian looked at the phone in front of him, half-ready and half-scared to make the move.

While Stan was in school, he helped Carla’s mother with the house chores in the most meticulous way possible, not wanting to screw anything up to more than what he had done with Ford’s project, his life and Stanley’s situation.

Things had been going ok until he remembered the shocked, anguished looks from Mom and Shermie. They needed to know he and Fez were ok and not barely surviving under a bridge or something. And that’s why he was in front of the phone now, analyzing what he might say to one of them if they answered. If they were able to answer because if Filbrick got to talk like yesterday, it would be so troublesome for him.

He didn’t want to deal with that poor excuse of a man.

“Sebastian?” an older female voice startled him and he turned around. Uh, it was Carla’s mom.

“Sorry, I was thinking”

“Don’t worry, hun. Is something wrong with the phone? Isn’t it working?”

“No, the problem is—” _‘that you’re a big scaredy-cat!’_ Bill2 mocked but Sebas ignored him “I don’t know what to tell them. I know Mom and Shermie, that’s my little brother, by the way, are worried sick about me and Stan, but there’s also Filbrick. If he responds, I will have to hang up”

“Is that man always on the phone?” asked the lady worriedly.

“More like always on any chance to fill his pockets with money whether using someone else works or improving the pawnshop” he mumbled resentfully “I don’t want to delay this any further but, what if by calling I get them in trouble? What if Filbrick had forbidden them to talk about me or even try to contact me?”

“The nerve of that man! Seriously, I can’t understand why your family hasn’t called the police yet. But don’t let him get through you, I bet they’ll keep this secret if you ask them”

That’s a good point.

“Yeah, though I don’t want to ask them too much. I have caused too much trouble already”

The woman tried to comfort him by putting her hand on his shoulder and smiling at him kindly. It worked, even if it was just a bit.

Sebas kept looking at the phone for some more minutes until he finally made a decision. To hell with Filbrick, he had all the right in the world to talk with Mom and Shermie. Taking the device, he dialed the house’s number and waited, praying for any of them to answer instead of that pig.

“Hello?” a tired female voice responded and the teenager smiled, filled with hope.

“H-Hey, Mom. Guess what? It’s me” oh dammit, his voice was cracking.

“Oh God, OH GOD! Sebastian! My baby boy! Thank heavens, it’s you! Where are you? Is Stan there? Are you and your brother ok? Nothing bad has happened to any of you?” his chest constricted painfully due to guilt after hearing all those questions.

“Calm down, Mom. I’m fine. We’re fine. Stanley and I find a place to stay. But, before telling you, could you promise me something? Just a little thing?”

“Of course, my baby. Whatever it is!”

“Ok ok. Please lower your voice, I don’t want you to get in trouble with Filbrick. Look, Stan and I are in Carla McCorkle’s house. You know Carla, right? Stan’s girlfriend? Her parents were kind enough to let us stay in their home until we find a way to pay for one on our own. Fez must be in school right now, but I’m not going to attend for a week. I bet Stanford told everyone in school that I sabotaged his project, and the teachers and the principal must be hating me more than ever” he gulped a bit, thinking on any other subject to talk about “Mom, please keep this secret, ok? And if Shermie is in the house, tell him about this. I know he is as worried about us as you. Can you and Shermie keep this secret for me? Please?”

“Anything for you, Sebastian. I’m so glad you and Stan are ok. Shermie will be so happy about it. I love you, baby boy”

“Mooooom” he whined but his smile was bigger than before “I love you too. You and Shermie, I love you both. Take care, ok?”

“We will. Take care you two too, honey”

“Of course, we will. I love you. B-Bye” then he hung up and scrubbed his watery eyes.

_Wait a second, wasn’t Carla’s mom here with me moments ago?_ He turned around and saw that the living room was empty. _She gave me some space to talk_ , Sebastian mused gratefully.

___________________________

Classes were over. Finally. Taking notes and paying attention may not be physically tiring for Stanley but that didn’t mean those tasks were his strong points. The pros he could get of them though were helping his brother catching up with school until things -or Stanford especially- calmed down enough for Sebas to come back and finish the rest of what was left of their year.

“Something bothering you, babe?” Carla, who was in the copilot’s seat, looked at him with concern which made him remember another task he needed to take care of.

“I know you’re gonna call me crazy, but I have to return home”

“To your house? But you decided to be kicked out”

“My things are still in the house, and Sebastian’s too. Just hope Pa hasn’t gotten rid of them to spite us both because I don’t have money to buy more school material or clothes”

“Aren’t you scared?” she asked him and Stan raised an eyebrow “I mean, with the kind of father you have, it will be impossible to retrieve your things”

“Don’t sweat it, hotpants. I defied him and I’m still alive. Besides, what is the worse he could do to me?”

//////////////////

“So, you’ve finally accepted that being on the side of that fucker was a bad idea, uh?” in hindsight, Stan should’ve known that Pa was going to say something like that.

“No, I’m going to pack my things and Sebastian’s too and then I’ll be out of your hair, Pa” Stan was going to say ‘sir’ in a sarcastic way or just tell him to move, though that might enrage his father.

“Have you seriously let that filthy turd mess your head up so bad to ruin your own life?”

“He is my brother!” Stan shouted, exasperated.

A tense silence covered both Pines and Carla who wanted to be at his boyfriend’s side. Lee was expecting Pa to yell at him, throttle him or close the door on his face but he didn’t do anything much to Stan’s surprise. In fact, he seemed pensive.

Was that a good sign or a bad one?

Stan may have forgotten it but his scholarship was the only thing that stopped Filbrick from reacting as badly as he did when he kicked out Sebastian from the house. The knucklehead was the only one left with the chances of making money, enough to get himself -and that shitty scum he called brother- out of this dump and if that happened, then he would be stuck forever in New Jersey because Ford wasn’t accepted by West Coast Tech.

Maybe if he tried to be in the knucklehead’s good side, Stan might lend him a hand in the end with his future fortune. Though, if there is something Pines men never did that was swallowing their pride. But for money, Filbrick would make an exception.

“Tch, fine. Make me a favor and disappear that imbecile’s belongings before I burn them” Pa let him in. Stan and Carla looked at each other not believing what was happening which irritated Filbrick even more “Well, what are ya waiting for? Get rid of his things!” he yelled and both teenagers entered the house immediately.

Mom, who was cleaning the kitchen, noticed them both in the living room and ran to hug his free-spirit son.

“Thank God, you’re ok, Stanley! Oh, my precious boy, what happened with Sebastian? Is he alright?” the woman wanted so much to tell him that she had been called and informed by Sebastian about their situation, but Karin couldn’t do it with Filbrick being around.

“Don’t worry, Mom. He’s fine. Now, could you help me pack my things and Sebastian’s too? I don’t want them to be in the trash” Stan joked a bit but it was true because that something might be disposed of by Pa if he didn’t take it with him.

His mother and Carla helped him with the essentials: clothes, shoes, notebooks and books, pencils, Sebas’ knitting set, their toothbrush and hairbrush, and even Stanley’s rainy savings that he had hidden in a shoebox under his bed. All of that inside two-sport suitcases.

“Well, time to go. Take care, Mom” Stan hugged tightly.

“You too, darling. Help your brother and be good with each other, ok?”

“I will”

“Carla, can we talk a little before you two go?” asked Karin.

“What is it, Mrs. Pines?” the teenager in a second got a hug from the woman who whispered in her ear ‘thank you for helping my boys’ which made her blushed for the gratitude given. She just responded with a shy ‘No prob’ and bid Karin farewell before following Stanley.

Once both were in the car, Carla told Stan what his mother had wanted to talk to her.

“So, Sebas called her. Well, at least she and Shermie won’t be wondering where we are or if we’re fine”

“Is something wrong with that?”

“No, what is confusing is how Pa acted today. I thought he would react badly after seeing me but he was just grumpy and impatient”

“Better for us, I guess. I was ready to kick him in the balls, can’t stand his presence”

“Good for Sebas to be far away from him then,” Stan said before turning on the car.

________________________

“Really? So, they are in that girl’s house and ok?” asked a hopeful and relieved Sherman to Mom while he was preparing to go to sleep.

“Of course, hun. They’re ok. But please, keep this a secret. No one has to know, and for no one, I’m talking about your father. Understood?”

“And what about the freaky jerk?” his mother glared sternly at him knowing that by that name he was referring to Stanford.

“Sherman Pines, your brother has gone through a lot. He doesn’t deserve those insults”

“Of course, he does!” the kid exclaimed with righteous anger. He didn’t care if Ford was and still is mad because he couldn’t go to his nerd college, that wasn’t an excuse to let Pa kick Sebas out. Sebastian was a good brother!

“He only thinks about himself! If you had heard how he had insulted Sebastian in school one day, you would agree with me!”

“Lower your voice, young man. And about that, you should know that siblings sometimes fight and talk bad to each other, but that doesn’t mean they don’t love each other”

“The only thing that freaky jerk loves is getting what he wants. Some family he is” Karin sighed sadly not knowing how to convince him otherwise. She decided to let it be for now. The wounds of the incident were still fresh and Shermie needed time to cool down and be more understanding.

_He is being loyal to her brother, both are so close_ , she told to herself remembering many times when Sebastian and he spent time together. Mrs. Pines kissed him in the forehead with a good night and went to her room, feeling lighter than before all this mess.

Sebastian and Stanley were fine. They were safe. That’s what mattered.

Unbeknownst to them, someone else had listened to their whole conversation while studying.

Ford couldn’t focus on his homework or read a book to ignore what he had been listening to those tense minutes. His whole body was shaking with hatred and anger to the point of not being able to hold the pen correctly.

It wasn’t fair!

That fucktard of Sebastian was taking everything away from him! First, his chances to go to West Coast Tech, then Stanley being on his side and now Shermie was labeling him an enemy when that envious traitor was responsible for all of this!

Why couldn’t they understand?! That saboteur ruined his life and still, he was being treated like a victim while Ford only got the scraps! At least Pa could see Sebastian’s true colors. But it wasn’t enough!

What more was he going to steal from him?

_Damn you, defect_ , he thought, blood as hot as lava, before trying to focus again in his books. 


	3. You’re not welcome

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sebastian finally returns to school after being absent for a week. But is the fight really over or it has just begun?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 8 months without updating! I apologize for that, many ideas for fanfics and life stuff can do that to anyone. But here it is chapter 3! Also, as a little warning, my updates will be random, sometimes between weeks or months. Thank you for your kudos and comments!

To say that he was nervous was a huge understatement for Sebastian.

He had been receiving the latest news about how everything in school was going thanks to Stan, and unfortunately, his hunches were right: Sixer had already told the teachers and principal that he broke his project, though he exaggerated the story.

It didn’t matter. The fools of school never stopped hating him and buying Ford’s sob story wasn’t anything new. In fact, it was pretty obvious.

However, that didn’t stop his nerves from making his body tremble in trepidation. The educative building was in front of him and the only one who could help him go through the day without being murdered by Stanford was Stanley.

Fez AND his football team, something Sebas didn’t believe.

“Don’t worry, bro. I told the guys to protect you and not mess with you unless they want some knuckle sandwich from my part” he tried to smile to Stan’s encouragement but failed.

“No offense, but between the brutes you have as friends and Sixer, I’d rather be beaten to the pulp by someone I already know”

“Ok, first, ouch that hurt. They aren’t that much of some brutes. Besides, I was clear to them that if they hurt you in some way, they would pay painfully”

“Which will get you in trouble”

“As long as no one knows it’s alright. And don’t be scared because of Ford, I bet he will be too tired to fight with you”

“Hope so,” Sebastian said not too sure about it, but still followed Stanley to the school’s entrance.

And so, their first classes started. The teenager was barely controlling his anxiety while avoiding gazes from other students that might seem suspicious or nasty.

_‘Chill down, kid!’_ Bill2 whined, annoyed _‘You look like a puppy trembling in the rain. A very pathetic one because even those sacks of meat can deal with shit more worthily’_

Well, at least Bill2’s complaints hadn’t changed at all, though having his mind in silence was something he would rather enjoy than being pestered by the triangle.

“Wait a second, Pines. What are you trying to do here?” Miss Hansen, unfortunately, had arrived at the classroom, and even when there was still time before the bell rang, that didn’t stop the woman from glaring at Sebastian to halt his steps.

“I-is something wrong?” he asked, fearing the answer.

“Of course, something is seriously wrong! After the big crime you have made against your talented brother, do you think I’m going to let enter the classroom? No way, what if you do the same with your other classmates?”

“That’s insane,” Sebastian said flatly and wanting to get over this “Besides, Stanley had told you and the other teachers that it was a mistake not some sabotage”

“Maybe he believed your lies, but not me! Now get out!” Sebastian tried to say something in his defense but Miss Hansen pushed him roughly and was ready to close the door when Stan stopped her.

“Come on, Miss Hansen, Sebas will be out of your hair once the class is finished. I can keep an eye on him if you so think that he is going to cause trouble”

Sebastian rolled his eyes a bit offended but smile at his brother’s attempts to help him. Then, accidentally, his eyes landed on Stanford who was glaring at him with murderous, bloody intentions developing in his mind.

The teenager flinched a bit which seemed to give Ford some perverse satisfaction due to the dark smile on his face. _Like father, like son. He IS the copy of Filbrick Pines_ , thinking of that gave him a good idea. Daring and explosive but good nonetheless and the reason was that after all the torture from Filbrick and how horrible and arrogant Sixer acted towards him, he couldn’t let that jerk intimidate him in any way so, Sebastian straightened up and looked at his brother seriously without hesitation for some seconds until Stan tapped at his shoulder.

“Good and bad news, bro. The good thing is that you can stay in the classroom, the bad one, though, is that it will be for just 30 minutes”

“Half an hour?! Is this some kind of joke?!”

“If you really appreciate the sacrifices I’m making to let someone like you taking notes in my class and want to be here with the other students, then I’ll suggest you to show more respect. Be grateful I’m giving your brother the benefit of the doubt about what you did. And just for an extra warning: if I find you distracted or trying to mess with one of your classmates, you’re out!”

Sebastian wanted to laugh, **really** laugh at that statement. Making sacrifices? What a hypocrite! She and the other teachers had been treating him like shit while pampering Ford with praises. Sure, he was weird and got distracted too many times to count, but still, Miss Hansen was forgetting that they had let Ford cheat because of the hatred they felt towards him and also because they favored Sixer.

Anyway, it wouldn’t be a good idea to rub that on her face. Stan was doing too much already to help him and Sebastian didn’t want to waste that chance.

_‘Oh, come on, kid! Put that meat bag in her place! Since when you’re so rational? It’s disgustingly boring!_ ’, _‘If you have forgotten, me liking chaos was what put me in this mess. So, shut up!’_ with that Bill2 remained silent, though he was glaring at him in his mind.

“Fine, ok. I won’t make any mess and it will be only 30 minutes” he said, resigned. The teacher showed him an empty table and he took a seat with Stan at his side.

This would be a long day.

_________________________________

To say that Wanda was concerned was the understatement of the century. She had been hearing rumors from many students, and especially from the teachers, that Sebastian had done something inconceivable to his brother…his brother…

What was his name again?

Great, now she forgot about it! Nevermind, the point was that she couldn’t believe it. No, she didn’t want to. True, Wanda and Sebastian didn’t know each other that well, but he was a nice and funny guy. If it weren’t for him, she would still be doing chores for that unbearable jerk of Ivan. So, for him to become that kind of jerk or something worse, to destroy someone’s life was more like a lie than anything.

Wanda needed to find him and get answers, and most importantly, check if he was ok. Sebastian being absent for a whole week was nothing but a red flag for her. Well, at least it wasn’t because of an accident but--

“Do you think you can turn everyone against me and come out unscathed?!”

Wait, what?

She turned to the right of the corner and stopped, confusion and alarm fighting in her head. Sebastian and his brother -Ford, if she was correct- were in the locker hallway. Ford had his hands in Sebas’ collar shirt, pressing him against some lockers and using all his strength to cut him some air. Sebastian didn’t look intimidated, but Wanda was horrified at noticing a dark bruise on his eye-patched-covered left eye and a thin trail of blood coming out of his mouth.

“Hey, leave him alone!” she yelled running straight to them.

___________________________

Ford was fuming. The more effort he put at waiting for a good time to give that damn traitor a lesson, the more impatient and angrier he was.

It seemed like the world, heck, the whole universe even, was treating fucking Sebastian so kindly while ignoring the biggest injustice that defective excuse of human did against him. Wasn’t it enough for the freak to have ruined his life, dragged Stan down with him, made Shermie hate him, and now he could take classes and act so pompous like nothing was wrong?!

Unacceptable! He was right all along about that betrayer; he was only jealous of him and his achievements! But no, instead of accepting that, Sebastian decided to keep using Stanley to have more things in his favor. How couldn’t anyone in the family see how rotten he was?!

However, things wouldn’t be so dandy when Ford found him. Which was happening right now.

“There you are!” despite not being the best at boxing, Sixer delivered him a good though very painful punch.

Sebastian staggered, his hand covering his left eye to minimize the stinging pain. He looked at Stanford shocked, hurt, and enraged. Mostly enraged.

_‘KILL HIM! KILL HIM!’_ Bill2 cheered in both hatred towards Ford and lust for violence.

“Could you please tell me… WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK WAS THAT FOR?!!!”

“As if you don’t know, you traitorous freak!”

“So, you have finally come for your vendetta” Sebastian emphasized, resentfully “You know, I was right about you to want a fight, but I thought it would be too crazy for you to start one knowing how much trouble that would give you. But of course, what I know about school politics, right? I mean, if the teachers let you get away with cheating then they’ll do the same if you hit someone”

Ford’s right eye was twitching madly. How dared he?! How dared Sebastian being so laid-back after what he put him through?!

“Hitting someone?! More like delivering well-served punishment! You may have manipulated everyone but I SEE right through you and Pa does too! You’re just an envious parasite you ruined my whole life”

Sebastian winced a bit, deeply hurt for that. But he stayed put and looked at his brother seriously “For being so smart you are terribly blind and narrow-minded. You have a roof over your head, food, a bed. It wasn’t your life the one that was ruined, it was MINE! I was kicked out, Filbrick treated me horribly like the teachers, I didn’t have a chance in the science fair. And no,” he stopped Ford before he interrupted him “if you are going to say that I scare everyone with my weirdness then forget it. That may be true, but it doesn’t mean the teachers had to be that unfair. And about your project, it was an accident, no less no more”

Sixer took some steps, enough to be close to Sebastian and intimidate him with the fiercest glare he could send, “Lies” he murmured, voice dangerously low “You did it because of how envious you are of my merits!”

The other teenager snorted which made one of Ford’s eyes twitch. “If you are so _superior_ , compared to me, why the cheating, ah, genius? Oh, wait, I know! Mr. Scaredy Cat couldn’t stand that I might get an A, so he cheated instead of accepting defeat for once. Pfffft, such a coward”

_‘WOOOHOOOO! Yeah, kid! Teach that jerk!’_

Ford, triggered by that last word, punched Sebas again, splitting his lower lip, grabbed his collar shirt, and pushed him pretty harshly against the lockers. His snarls were becoming nastier due to his rage.

“I’m NOT a coward! And unlike YOU, I don’t take advantage of others’ sympathy to get what I want!”

“It’s called ‘helping others willingly’, you asshole. Stan wanted to be there for me when Filbrick kicked me out, and I don’t know about Shermie or Mom, but if they want to help me too, then it’s because they love me, it is what family do. But of course, what can you know about that? You only care about yourself”

“Do you think you can turn everyone against me and come out unscathed?!” Ford was ready to punch him again when a female voice got in the way.

“Hey, leave him alone!” a blonde girl, some years younger than them, ran to where they were and pushed Ford harshly while glaring daggers at him.

“W-Wanda?!” Sebastian rubbed at his good eye. It was her, wasn’t it? But why was she here?

_‘Who cares, kid?! More people in the ring means more funny violence!’_ the teenager scrunched up his nose in disgust. Wanda being hurt by Sixer wasn’t something he wanted to see.

“Who are you?” Ford face changed from furious to confused in a second but then he glared at Sebas again “Did you manipulate her too because you can’t defend yourself?”

Wanda approached Stanford, her eyes shining with an outraged fire. Now it was the time for getting her answers AND give that jerk of a brother a piece of her mind.

“First, Ford, Sebastian didn’t manipulate me or whatever. I’m helping him because I WANT to. Second, I know this isn’t a problem of mine, but I heard from the students and the teachers, the second ones especially, that Sebas did something bad to you. But I can’t believe it, he is a good guy after all”

Ford and Sebastian looked at each other in surprise. Then Sixer got a cruel idea, if he could show her that that traitor wasn’t what he seemed, he could take away one ally of him away. It was the least he deserved for destroying his chances to go to WCT. Sebastian, just by seeing his brother’s expressions, knew that things would get messy when Wanda listened to the story. Well, Ford’s version of the story.

‘ _Oh ho, this will be so much fun. Just imagine it, buddy. Her face contorting in shame and disappointment, yelling at you that you’re so horrible, insulting you, heck, she will slap and spit you, not wanting to see you anymore_ ’ Sebastian flinched at Bill2’s somber predictions, though he didn’t want to accept it, but what if that became true? Then, Wanda would be another more in the list of people who hated him.

“That imbecilic parasite,” Ford pointed at Sebastian, ignoring Wanda’s glare for insulting her friend “ruined my whole life on purpose. How you may ask? He SINGLEHANDEDLY DESTROYED my science project that could’ve gotten me to West Coast Tech, the best college in the country! He did it because he was jealous of my achievements and couldn’t stand me showing my greatness!”

Wanda’s glare softened and her eyes got serious, she turned around and faced Sebastian. “Is that true?” she asked. Sebastian gulped and tried to ignore Bill2’s mockery about how hilarious would it be to see him being slapped by the girl.

“Wanda, look, it is true” he started and then raised his hands alarmingly “Just the ‘broken project’ part! But I didn’t destroy Ford’s machine on purpose. The day before the science fair, I was breaking MY science project because I was mad and frustrated, and then, one hit of mine broke the perpetual motion machine -that’s Ford’s project, by the way- accidentally. I panicked, I didn’t know what to do, but I felt terribly bad. I confronted him and told him I was sorry—”

“Which is a lie!” Ford interrupted, though Wanda shut him up with a vicious glare.

“And then what happened?”

“Filbrick, me and Ford’s father, got furious with me. He hit and kicked me” Sebastian felt guilty after seeing Wanda’s horrified reaction at hearing that “Then he kicked me out of the house, though Stanley -that’s my other triplet- decided to be there for me”

“You dragged him down! His future was in perfect condition until you—”

“Could you shut the FUCK up for once?!” Ford was surprised at Wanda’s hostility but closed his mouth while crossing his arms grumpily.

“And well, about my absence, I decided to be out of school for a week to let things calm down. Though, they didn’t still. And that’s all”

Wanda nodded and a heavy silence set over the three. Just when the situation couldn’t be more unbearable, Sebastian opened his mouth to say something but the girl beat him to it.

“Well, it went from bad to worse. But accidents happen and that you have confronted your brother is enough proof for me to see that there was no sabotage or anything”

Sebas face was stunned by the shock, then a huge grin appeared. Wanda believed him! She didn’t think he was a monster or worthless!

_‘Oh great, more sappy crap’_ Bill2 complained, disgusted.

“You can’t be serious!” Sixer’s shout got the attention of the other two. “Are you really that naïve to fall for all his deceptions?!”

“Hey, Wanda is anything but that!”

“Stay out of this, freak!”

“Do NOT call him freak!” Wanda made him step back a bit by approaching him. “Look, your project was broken and you couldn’t be accepted to that great college, it hurts, it sucks. Ok, you can be angry all you want, but let’s think about this. If Sebastian had those evil intentions against you, he would’ve framed someone else to not deal with the consequences”

“But he DID frame someone else!! Stanley—”

“The toffy peanut wrapper fell accidentally when I was trying to put it in my pocket. I told Stanley that and he understood. If I wanted to get away with my ‘sabotage’ as you say, I would’ve orchestrated everything to make you hate him and give Filbrick enough reasons to kick him out”

“You can’t deceive me! You may have done it with everyone one else, but not with me! At least, Pa knows the kind of person you are!”

“No, Stanford” Wanda intervened again, her face so deadly serious it gave him the creeps “You are being deceived, blinded by all that anger you have. Sebastian has admitted his mistake and confronted you. Whether you want to believe him and try to reach an agreement or not, it’s up to you. BUT I will not tolerate more of your insults or mistreatments towards him. Wanna stay mad forever, bitter, thinking you were the victim of a complot? Good, marvelous even. Do it. But don’t drag Sebastian with it, because if you do, you will have to go THROUGH ME!”

Ford was speechless. It happened again. Another person that traitor had wrapped around his filthy fingers. Was everyone that gullible to let Sebastian control them with that pitiful excuse of an alibi he had? Well, it didn’t matter. No! It would never matter.

Because once he reached greatness, he would rub that in everyone’s faces so they regret when they chose Sebastian’s side and not his!

“Fine! Then stay with this good-for-nothing parasite, but once your life is hell, don’t make me say ‘I told you’. I will be going places and then you’ll see how big your mistake was!” with that said, he turned around angrily and left, stomping and cursing in mumbles.

Silence reigned again with some awkwardness between the two teenagers. Sebastian coughed lightly not knowing what to say now that the adrenaline of the fight was wearing off. Wanda, on the other hand, was still fuming. The nerve of Sebas’ brother! Acting as if his troubles should be in every spotlight! Ugh! How infuriating! The only good thing about this mess was that no teacher or jailor appeared to elevate the tension. It would’ve been too much drama to deal with.

“Ugh… What the heck of a guy” Wanda turned around and her furious eyes softened after seeing her friend’s injured face “Are you ok? Do you want to go to the infirmary, that bruise looks painful” she approached him slowly and touched the swollen, purple spot on his eye, making him flinch a bit, but Sebastian let her caressing his injuries. After so much stress, being cared for felt nice.

“It’s alright. I’ll go to the bathroom to grab some paper, don’t want Stanley to have an attack if he sees me like this”

“I’m sorry I didn’t come in time to stop that jerk. Seriously, what’s wrong with him?”

“He’s mad at me…for good reasons” _‘More like he utterly hates you!’_ mocked him Bill2, Sebastian ignored him.

“Whether he has good reasons to be angry or not, treating you like that was horrible. Thank goodness no one came to see the fight. I don’t want you to be in more trouble than before” she grabbed his hand and thankfully, didn’t glance at him, because his cheeks were flushing “Let’s go to the infirmary, ok? With some gauze and alcohol, you’ll look much better”

“But I hate alcohol!” Sebastian complained playfully.

________________________

The rest of the day was normal, or as non-violent as he could hope. Of course, the teachers gave him the stink eye, wanted nothing to do with him and Stan had to go in his defense more than once, but the silver lining in all that mess was Wanda. Sebastian couldn’t believe his luck to have scheduled a date -a date! He thought that would be impossible after the last romance fiasco! - with this sweet girl, though instead of just the two of them, it would be with Stan and Carla too. They’d love Wanda, and he bet she would be happy to make new friends.

“So, I was thinking” Sebastian swallowed a bit of saliva, trying to reorder his thoughts “When I graduate, I’d want you, Stan, and Carla to meet Matsuda-san”

Wanda raised an eyebrow at that name. “Matsuda-san? Is it a far-away member of your family?”

“He’s my boss at the tailor shop but acts more like a father than the brute I have that kicked me out. I haven’t seen him in a while, wonder what he’s doing. I wanted to show him the trophy I would win at the science fair, but well, it was just wishful thinking in the end. The teachers hate me, no matter how much I work on my homework”

“Matsuda would be ecstatic once he saw you in your graduation attire with a diploma, Sebs. Finishing your studies here is what matters most. That stupid science fair trophy is just a cheap trick for the teacher to bribe students so they don’t slack off” Sebastian laughed at her harshness, finding it endearing. “What? It’s true. There should be better incentives to motivate children to study”

“Trophies and medals are good incentives” he argued.

“Just to show them off. I think whatever Matsuda has done to help you is real support so you can do well in school. We could even make a celebration once graduation is over. Show him how much you want to make the best of your future”

Sebastian flushed much more than before, wishing that the word embarrassment didn’t exist, but that was the least of his problems. There were butterflies on his stomach and a sense of warmth and security that Wanda had no idea she was giving him. He smiled more confidently and decided that, even if Stanford and the teachers, and the principal were going to make his school life more of a hell than it was, he would graduate with the best scores and the best attitude. Not only for himself but also for the people who cared about him.

Ma, Shermie, Stanley, Matsuda-san, Wanda, heck even Carla McCorkle. All of them were there for him, helped him, loved him, encouraged him. Yeah, who needed a piece of cloth with the number 1 sew on it or a shiny piece of metal turned into a medal? Having his loved ones by his side was the real prize, and as long as he was passionate about his studies and learning, Sebastian would be able to show them his appreciation for their support.


End file.
